Retail in Waterford City

Key facts

Waterford is Ireland’s 5th largest city and is the major
urban centre and economic capital of the South Eastern
region. The city has been designated as a gateway city
by the Government under the 'National Spatial Strategy
for Ireland' plan. The Irish Government's 'Project Ireland 2040' has identified that Waterford has significant growth potential, with expected economic growth in the region of 50% to 2040.

Waterford City has a residential population of 53,504 (2016 Census) and a further 500,000 within a 60 minute radius. In addition, 'Project Ireland 2040' predicts that Waterford City & Suburbs will reach a population of 81,000 by 2040.

Waterford City is a major employment centre for the south east with over 1,500 new jobs created since 2016. Multinationals based in Waterford include GlaxoSmithKline, West Pharmaceuticals, Aquasyn Biosolutions, Nypro Healthcare, Sanofi, TEVA, Sun Life Financial, Bausch+Lomb, Red Hat, Tech Mahindra and Bluefin.

€17.3m has been invested in the City Centre public realm with works to be completed by the end of 2018.

There is a high level of affordable public and private car parking available in the city centre (4,000+ spaces).

Waterford City is served by a comprehensive transport network and is situated on a number of critical and linking transport corridors. Also it's main river-port is the only port in Ireland directly served by the Irish Rail network, meaning faster & easier intake/output of product.

Retail in Waterford City

Waterford City centre is an attractive and vibrant retail destination with a broad range of tourism, cultural, retail, services and leisure activities. The city centre is home to a mix of high street retailers, independent boutique style operations and a vibrant café culture. Activity in the city centre stretches into the evening and night time supported by the accredited Purple Flag initiative.

Waterford City centre offers a diverse range of property solutions combining existing contemporary and heritage buildings suitable for a range of uses including retail and hospitality.

Prime retail locations in Waterford City include:

The pedestrianised areas of Barronstrand Street and John Roberts Square, where you will find retailers including Tommy Hilfiger, Clarks, H. Samuel, Skechers, Lifestyle Sports and Penneys, along with nearby cafés and eateries such as Starbucks, Costa Coffee, McDonalds, Supermacs & O' Briens Sandwich Café.

Georges Court Shopping Centre accommodates a number of major retailers including Boots, Mothercare and Pamela Scott, along with other small independent shops, boutiques and cafés.

The adjacent streets of Michael Street, and Georges Street (anchored by Shaws Department Store) provide a strong support to these locations and complete the retail circuit.

Waterford's independent retailers are also an essential part of the City Centre landscape, with shops such as Heroes, Phelans Shoes, The Book Centre, Mulligans Pharmacies, Jenny Shoo Boutique, The Hanger Boutique, Kneisel Jewellers, Hallmark Jewellers to name but a few!!

New Developments in Waterford City centre

City Square Shopping Centre Re-development

City Square Shopping Centre is located in the centre of Waterford City at the heart of the city’s retail and historic, medieval core. The €6m redevelopment includes the upgrade of the key approach to the centre from Broad Street via Peter street and the establishment of a new high quality retail environment on the Peter Street mall. The location of a new a two storey retail MSU (major space user) unit of 1,300m², a single storey retail unit of 170m² and additional remote storage space at this end of the centre will upgrade and reinforce the quality of the retail offer, increase footfall, and encourage pedestrian movement between the centre and the adjoining city retail core.